Why eat organic?
My answer is
simple, the impact of toxins on your health.
A short explanation, eating conventional products may save a little money right now but can create big
problems for your body and your bank account later. You will spend way more then the savings
right now on doctors and treatments later. When
you eat non organic products you are ingesting numerous types of toxins including
all types of pesticides and
fertilizers. This is bad but
what is way worse when you eat non-organic animal products, you are eating all
the hormones, antibiotics and powerful
drugs that is given to those animals.
The modern factory farm treats animals horribly and the only way they
can stay alive is to pump them full of drugs.
These drugs end up in your body with all the side effects that come from
the drugs. What is amazing is that
studies have shown that some types of fish have high levels of Prozac and other
anti-depressants, these and other drugs do not simply go away when you flush
the toilet but work their way through the food chain ending up concentrated in
the apex animal, Humans. Eating organic
does not solve all these problems, but it is a great first step to eliminating
the modern world's toxins from your body.
Our bodies will, at first, work double time to keep us alive under such
unfavorable conditions. However, the body overtired by so much work, will begin
to accumulate waste as best as it can, instead of pushing it out. This waste
matter is usually stored where it does not interfere with vital life processes.
In the long run thought, the waste build-up grows to an unmanageable amount,
resulting in problems such as cancer and heart disease, and a life-threatening
condition ensues. In addition for women
it is especially important to eat organic because we can pass these pesticides
and toxins to our unborn child during fetal development. These toxins have been
linked to all types of health problem including birth defects. New studies are showing links from the toxins
in your body to cancer, neurological disorders, hormonal problems, autism,
gestational diabetes and more.
Eating organic can cost a little more but
consider that you are already dealing with a lot of toxins in your body and to
introduce more, in the form of refined
food, the pesticides and fertilizers
used to grow vegetables and fruits, the
powerful drugs given to the animals we eat,
hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs can cause serious problems now
and in the future.
I am often asked if you are on a budget what
are the most important things to eat organic.
By far the most important are animal products, specifically meat. Chicken and beef are two the most widely consumed
animal products and also two that contain the most amount of drugs and
chemicals. A close second is dairy. Conventional milk is one of the most
adulterated substances sold in the supermarket, the average dairy cow is pumped
full of chemicals to maximize milk production.
This is good for the farmers bottom line but not for your body. I would say eggs are another area to focus
on, just as dairy cows are manipulated for milk, hens are manipulated to
maximize egg laying. You need to be very
careful with eggs as they can contain all types of toxins. After these animal products there are
certain vegetables and fruits that are heavily coated with pesticides., According to studies by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) the foods to pay
particular attention to are:
1. Nectarines – 97.3% of nectarines
sampled were found to contain pesticides.
2.
Celery – 94.5% of celery
sampled were found to contain pesticides.
3.
Pears – 94.4% of pears sampled
were found to contain pesticides.
4.
Peaches – 93.7% of peaches
sampled were found to contain pesticides.
5.
Apples – 91% of apples sampled
were found to contain pesticides.
6.
Cherries – 91% of cherries
sampled were found to contain pesticides.
7. Strawberries – 90% of strawberries
sampled were found to contain pesticides.
8. Imported Grapes – 86%
of imported grapes (i.e. Chile) sampled were found to contain
pesticides.
9.
Spinach – 83.4% of spinach
sampled were found to contain pesticides.
10.Potatoes – 79.3% of potatoes
sampled were found to contain pesticides.
11.Bell Peppers – 68% of bell peppers
sampled were found to contain pesticides.
12.Red Raspberries – 59%
of red raspberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.
This is not
an exhaustive list, but a general guideline.
Organic foods are not perfect but are certainly a needed step in the
right direction.
Shop in farmer's
markets, it can help you to find better prices as well as seasonal and local products, which will allow you to eat fresher because the
products do not travel around the world before you put them in your mouth. Eating organic also helps our environment, the planet and future generations.
Some of the
farmer's markets around NY:
What's on my
food (website to check)
